Would everybody PLEASE go back and read James' post from 7/03, 7:58 pm on this thread.

He spells out EXACTLY what is legal and illegal, under current US and international law, about sampling AND converting styles.

It's a good read, and MIGHT make some of you realize what is right and wrong. You all might also Google the 'fair use' policies of the RIAA, and copyright law in general. If you DON'T know the law, you really are not in a position to comment here on what is right and wrong, only on what you would LIKE to see (of course, NONE of you HAS any copyrighted material, so what do you care?).
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I still think the closest analogy I have been able to come up with was of a club owner, restaurant manager, of old folks home director TAPING your show (maybe he videos it, to get your onstage look and show), and then using it INSTEAD of hiring YOU.

'But that would never happen', you said. 'People will ALWAYS want to hear live music' you said.

BUT WHAT IF THEY DIDN'T...?

What if they were JUST...... LIKE....... YOU?

What if they didn't care WHERE their music came from, as long as it SOUNDED the same? What if they didn't care whether the club owner had payed you for that recording, and had taken it without your permission? What if the club owner BRAGGED about video-ing your show, and said he would soon do it to ALL the acts that came to his club?

And everybody said 'What a GREAT IDEA!'

WOULD YOU CARE THEN....?